Two ports in two days — Katakalon/Olympia was reached only one day after we embarked from, and Corfu followed the day after that. This cruise had a busy beginning, as immediately after that we also stopped at the ports of Kotor, Montenegro; and Dubrovnic, Croatia. Hiking-wise, Ursula and I were averaging six or more miles a day for the first four days.

Corfu Café

The Greek island of Corfu sits only a mile or two off the shore of Albania, but the residents are most assuredly all Greek. The landscape is dotted with Greek Orthodox churches, including the impressive tower that marks St. Spyridon Church.

St. Spyridon Church

In the Old Town section — which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site — you’ll find a maze of charming, narrow backstreets.

Corfu Side Street

Many of this backstreets will offer the photographer the opportunity to capture that prototypical European sight (and one of my favorite subjects) of laundry suspended above the narrow expanse.

Laundry Corfu-Style

By the way, the following shot was taken from one of two fortresses overlooking Corfu. Take the time to make the trek to at least the Old Fortress — the lower of the two — to capture some great scenery.

Corfu as Seen from the Old Fort

Corfu is a great place to take some really fun shots of everything from quaint shops and charming cafés to nifty architectural details such as shutter-framed windows and ancient wooden doors. Below are some examples of what I mean (click on any image below to bring up today’s slideshow). Next week you’ll see more of the transatlantic adventure we started on Saturday, October 19, out of Piraeus, Greece.

Never been to Corfu – and I don’t know what I thought it would look like – not like your pictures, that is for sure. It is truly charming. And, looks like it deserves a visit. You’ll be sailing in a wifi-less universe now. Enjoy some digital downtime.

Corfu is a lovely island, though it’s been almost twenty years since I last visited, when I was still young and pretty enough that lots of cars honked at me when I took to hiking along the road and naive enough to wonder what on Earth they were all honking about.